dinner at tuscany

Yes, that's at Tuscany, as in Tuscany il Ristorante in Westlake Village; not in Tuscany as in Italy. So while it doesn't have being in the most beautiful region of Italy to its credit, it is a great restaurant that was named an Open Table 2011 Diners Choice winner, and is a favorite of television legend Tom Selleck. I know this because my family has seen him here at least four different times. Alas, he did not show up for this family birthday dinner of mine though. Oh well... We still had a great time and had great food. I also (with the exception of my beverage) tried all new things I've never had here before in keeping with my 2013 "try new things" goal :)

Traditionally, when we come here, my mom and I have Cosmos. This year, my mom bailed on tradition and got wine instead. But I still got a pretty pink drink :)

Since this is a Tuscan restaurant, you should eat in courses like real Italians do, right? So for my "antipasti" I tried the Crispy Baby Artichokes a la "Romana," which were roasted baby artichokes served with a spicy arrabbiata tomato sauce and eggless roasted garlic aioli. I love me some artichokes and these were very good. But the bad thing about artichokes is they have pointy leaves, and when you make them crispy you're kind of accentuating that pointiness. They were still good and the arrabbiata sauce was to die for, but I still prefer my artichokes steamed or marinated.

For my "secondi" I was in the mood for pasta, so I had the Vermicelli with Strips of Filet Mignon and Pancetta, which consisted of large spaghetti with strips of filet mignon, roasted tomato, onion and pancetta. It arrived looking like spaghetti with a meat sauce, and I wasn't thinking about what I'd ordered when I took my first bite. So I was surprised by the filet mignon's lack of fall-apart-in-my-mouthness like a meatball would. But once I got over that and remembered what I'd ordered, all was right with the world again and I loved this dish. It was also extremely filling.

But that didn't mean I was too full for dessert... especially after my dad blabbed to the waitress that I was a "birthday girl." So I got a delish piece of the house tiramisu for free to celebrate, which I shared with the table. I'm not a big tiramisu person, but this one was good because a) there wasn't an overwhelming rum taste and b) there was a lot of chocolate and very spongy cake. And it had a candle on it :)